THE owner of an electrical store in Worcester has praised the community spirit that helped to scare off burglars.

Carol Shone, the owner of Tylers in Malvern Road, St John's, said alert neighbours quickly raised the alarm when thieves smashed the front window of her shop.

They managed to grab a number of items before escaping in a small hatchback car. But Mrs Shone believes the raid could have been much more costly if neighbours had not disturbed them.

She said they banged on their windows and shouted at them, before going out to look after the shop until the police arrived. A member of staff from the nearby Brunswick Arms even boarded up the broken window.

"I think it's superb," said Mrs Shone. "They scared the burglars off. We've only been here a short time, and this is really encouraging. The community is really helping each other.

"They've made us feel good about a bad incident."

Mrs Shone said she thinks the offenders came to look around the shop two days before the raid, which happened in the early hours of yesterday morning.

She took the details of the men's car before they left - and neighbours said the raiders used the same car for the burglary.

They escaped with two video recorders and a DVD player, valued at a total of more than £400.

Mrs Shone said the community spirit made her feel glad to have moved to St John's, where the store has been since last month.

"I'm sure that in a lot of places people would have just ignored the alarms," she said. "We're very fortunate to have such nice people around here."

Police said the offenders escaped in an unusual coloured red or orange Ford Fiesta.